The present disclosure relates generally to protective coverings, and more particularly to a protective covering for protecting finished work and other surfaces during construction, moving, painting, or other activities, and a method of manufacturing the protective covering.
The process of building out an area or constructing a building occurs in many phases. During this process, a number of different types of workers are required and it may be necessary to complete the construction in steps. As a result, frequently contractors damage floors, stairs, countertops, and other finished work in the process of completing other tasks and moving in and out heavy equipment.
During the last stages of house or building construction, and after floor and countertop materials already have been installed, finish work such as painting, caulking, finish carpentry, and appliance and lighting fixture installation is typically done. This finish work can often cause significant damage to plastic laminates, linoleum, hardwood, ceramic tiles, and carpets before the building is finished, sold, or moved into. Heavy tools, caulking and paint buckets, and appliance edges are particularly damaging.
Traditionally, the only protection, if any, given to floors and countertops during the final stages of construction has been a thin fabric drop cloth or a thin plastic sheet such as the 0.002 inch thick self-adhesive plastic sheet. These help protect against paint or caulking splatters and soil on workers' feet, but do not protect against gouges, scraps, abrasion, or other damage and breakage due to impact of objects or moving of equipment/tools.
Fabric throw rugs or moving van style blankets can be used but these absorb liquids, snag and catch on appliances, and do not protect against sharp and forceful impact. Also, these covers are bulky and heavy to transport and store.
Other products are designed to protect floors or walls independently but not both at the same time with one product. These products leave the base of walls and the perimeter of the floor exposed to damage. It is to be appreciated that where separate products are used to protect the floor and the wall, the lower section of walls including the baseboards can be easily damaged on job sites. Additionally, present products do not protect from liquid spills occurring at or near the junction between the wall and floor.
In view of the current state of the art, there is a need for a floor covering that is easy to use, protects against sharp and forceful impact a floor surface and which also protects the lower section of walls including the baseboards.